Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Fabrication and Operation of a Nano-Optical Conveyor Belt
Published on: August 26, 2015
The great Atlantic Sargassum belt
Mengqiu Wang1, Chuanmin Hu2, Brian B Barnes1
1College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
Abstract:
Pelagic Sargassum is abundant in the Sargasso Sea, but a recurrent great Atlantic Sargassum belt (GASB) has been observed in satellite imagery since 2011, often extending from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. In June 2018, the 8850-kilometer GASB contained >20 million metric tons of Sargassum biomass. The spatial distribution of the GASB is mostly driven by ocean circulation. The bloom of 2011 might be a result of Amazon River discharge in previous years, but recent increases and interannual variability after 2011 appear to be driven by upwelling off West Africa during boreal winter and by Amazon River discharge during spring and summer, indicating a possible regime shift and raising the possibility that recurrent blooms in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea may become the new norm.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Frictional Forces on Flat Belts
Flat Belts: Problem Solving
Nuclear Stability
To hold positively charged protons together...

